


Faith

by Skylar0Grace



Category: Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Supernatural
Genre: F/M, Mild Language
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-02-08
Updated: 2010-02-08
Packaged: 2017-12-04 18:12:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,336
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/713580
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Skylar0Grace/pseuds/Skylar0Grace
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Dean is about to meet up with his past in a most unexpected way.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Faith

* * *

Buffy was sitting on her bed with her eyes shut, trying to block out the noises coming from the room next to hers. Dawn had her music turned up and Buffy had decided to give it fifteen more minutes before bursting in there and possibly destroying the CD player. Dawn may have been a twenty-one year old woman now but Buffy knew there were times when her sister reverted back to being a teenager, especially if she had spent a lot of time with the Slayers. Buffy felt an odd tingling feeling in her body and she barely had time to yell out to Willow before everything around her went black.

Buffy opened her eyes and realised that she was on the floor of what looked like a motel room. She had no idea what had happened and she quickly scouted the room for danger. She was positive it had been a spell of some sort but she wasn’t sure why. Maybe someone, or something for that matter, wanted the Slayer out of the way while they raised some demon…or something.

Suddenly the door opened and Buffy rolled across the floor until she was crouched behind a bed. She saw a man walk in carrying a laptop. She stood quickly in a fighting position, alerting him to her presence. He raised his hands in defence.

“Faith right? I’m Sam. Dad called us and told us to get down here as quickly as possible.”

Buffy looked completely startled as she dropped her arms. “Faith?”

She quickly walked over to the mirror on the wall across the room and saw Faith’s reflection staring back. She raised her hands to her face and saw her reflection do the same. Buffy had known something was off. When she rolled across the room, her body didn’t move the way it usually did, though she assumed it was side effects of whatever spell had been cast and not because she wasn’t in her own body. As Buffy sighed and turned angrily back to a confused Sam, another man appeared at the door.

“Dean?” she gasped. Dean stopped and looked at her, his brows crunched in confusion. He must have decided that he didn’t recognise her because he turned to Sam who shrugged. Dean turned back to Buffy and shrugged.

“Sorry, do we know each other?” he asked as he strode by her and put two duffel bags on the first bed.

“It’s me…Buffy,” she said. Sam saw Dean’s shoulders tense. Dean slowly turned around and looked furiously at her.

“Buffy’s dead,” he said through clenched teeth drawing his gun and pointing it at her. “Sorry sweetheart, but you don’t even look anything like her. Who the hell are you?” he asked as Buffy glared back at him.

“I suggest you put that gun down before I kick your ass, Dean. I’m no threat to you.”

Buffy ran her hands around her jeans pockets looking for a mobile. Feeling it in her pocket she began pulling it out when she heard the gun click. She looked back up and saw that the weapon was now ready to fire.

“Look, I don’t _know_ what’s going on, Dean. Give me a minute and you’ll have your answers.” She quickly dialled her own number and put the call on speaker phone. There were two rings before a voice quickly answered.

 _“I swear B, I did not switch our bodies this time,”_ Faith said.

Dean hid his shock at hearing the very familiar voice at the other end of the phone; he’d been dealing with the supernatural all of his life and had no doubt that anything could sound like someone who was dead. Buffy glared at the phone.

“If you are lying to me, I will put you back in that coma,” Buffy said angrily. Faith sighed on the other end.

 _“I’m telling the truth B. I was just in my motel room and when I opened my eyes, I was here.”_ Buffy felt a little off colour.

“Were you sick Faith?” she asked as she held her now dizzy head. There was a short silence on the other end. Buffy heard a small sound and realised she still had a gun trained on her. She glared at Dean. “Oh, and Faith, Dean has a gun trained on me. If you don’t tell him to put it down, I will do it for him,” she said.

 _“Oh, shit,”_ Faith said from the other end.

“Faith, if you get me killed, I swear I will kick your ass.”

 _“Wait!”_ Faith called out. Buffy eyed the two men in front of her; one looked utterly confused and kept glancing between his brother and her, whilst the other looked furious. Completely furious. _“He’s one of John’s boys. He’s a hunter,”_ she clarified. Buffy sighed.

“Faith, I know who he is but he doesn’t believe that I am who I say I am,” Buffy said and she heard Faith sigh.

 _“Damn it! Oh, no, is John there?”_ Faith asked quickly. Buffy shook her head before replying.

“Nope, it’s just the three of us.”

 _“Crap!”_ Buffy heard her kick something. _“Okay, Dean put down your gun. B will kick your ass so I wouldn’t worry about it. You have more important things to do right now.”_ Dean scoffed and held his gun fast.

“I don’t think so,” he said staring angrily into Buffy’s eyes.

 _“Dean, your Dad is in trouble. He should have been back by now. You need to find him,”_ Faith yelled.

“Dad can handle himself,” Dean said. “Besides, I’m more worried about who exactly is standing in the middle of the room, pretending to be someone who’s dead.” Faith growled angrily and Buffy bristled.

“I’m not dead Dean,” Buffy yelled at him, frustrated.

“Like hell she isn’t. I watched her die. I helped bury her. She’s dead,” Dean yelled back, his voice breaking slightly.

Sam frowned. He had never seen Dean this broken up before. It took Sam a while to get Dean to open up to him, even a little, but this was beyond anything he had seen in Dean. There was so much pain and the emotion was right under the surface; Sam was actually worried about it spilling over.

“Willow brought me back,” Buffy yelled at him. Sam saw the fury in her eyes but he also saw something he hadn’t seen before on her face: fear. “I woke up in the coffin you buried me in and had to dig my way out! The town was going to hell by the time I reached the surface. You didn’t even stay to make sure everything was alright.” Buffy’s voice dropped to an audible whisper. “You promised you’d take care of Dawn.” A few tears escaped from her eyes and she looked down. “You lied!”

Dean slowly lowered his gun. A single tear slipped unbidden down his face before he raised his gun again. “No! Willow would have called, someone would have called. I don’t believe you,” Dean said angrily.

 _“She asked me not to Dean,”_ Willow said reluctantly from the phone. Dean turned to look at the phone in Buffy’s hand horrified.

“What?” he whispered, his arm dropping quickly. Buffy glared at him angrily.

“You’d already gone Dean. I figured you were done with Sunnydale.”

 _“No Buffy!”_ Dawn suddenly yelled from her end of the phone. _“He was looking after me. He has been this whole time. You didn’t want to know, you just assumed he’d taken off. You didn’t ask,”_ she pleaded.

“Dawn?” Dean whispered.

 _“I’m sorry I didn’t call you back, I know you were worried. I meant to as soon as we got to Cleveland but I…”_ Dawn trailed off.

There was a small silence and Buffy watched as Dean sat down slowly on the edge of the bed and stared at the floor. Another tear dropped slowly and he closed his eyes. Buffy took a step toward him and he quickly moved away from her toward the door.

“You said Dad’s in trouble Faith?” he asked, now emotionless.

 _“If he’s not dead already, he will be soon,”_ Faith answered.

“What happened?” Sam asked, temporarily ignoring the confusing situation he had found himself watching, though he didn’t miss Dean’s almost silent sigh of relief at his decision.

_“He’s gone hunting without me. B, please, you have to find him. I don’t know what the demon was, John didn’t really let me know what he found out; I think he suspected something was up.”_

“Yeah,” Buffy said turning her attention back to Faith, “I woke up on the floor. Guessing from the queasy feeling I have, I’d say you were drugged. You didn’t tell him did you?” Buffy asked, putting the information together and Faith sighed angrily.

 _“I though it would be easier if I didn’t. He went out on hunts and left me behind but I always followed him and helped take out whatever he was fighting. I was trying to help B.”_ Buffy closed her eyes and willed the queasy feeling to disappear.

“What have you got?” Buffy asked.

 _“Woods, as usual. They’re west on the edge of town. It looked like a nest of vamps but something is off with it. It was too easy to find.”_  
  
“Alright, Will, look into it for me and use all the info Faith can give you. Call me back when you get the I.D. and I’ll get there as soon as I can.”

Buffy hung up the phone and looked at the two men in front of her. Sam still wore a look of confusion but Dean seemed to be searching her as if trying to see her in Faith’s body. Dean caught her glance and turned away.

“I’ll drive,” Dean said stiffly as he walked out the door.

Sam gave Buffy a small smile, which she did not return, before they followed him out. The three of them climbed into the Impala and Dean drove to the site whilst an uneasy tension filled the car. Sam didn’t know how Dean and Buffy knew each other but he didn’t think Dean would be very forthcoming with information at the moment.

“So, are you a hunter?” Sam asked Buffy, turning around in his seat to face her.

“No, a Slayer,” Buffy answered, trying not to look in Dean’s direction. Dean seemed to ignore her but Sam raised both eyebrows in surprise.

“You’re the Slayer?”

“Not anymore. Well, not the only one. A few years ago Willow did a spell that harnessed mine and Faith’s abilities and, effectively, turned all Potential Slayers into Slayers. I help run a school for the girls now in Cleveland, basically training them and teaching them the things they need to know to survive.” Buffy glanced quickly at Dean but his body remained stiff as he drove and even Sam found his silence a little disheartening.

“Wow,” Sam said impressed. “That must have been a pretty powerful spell.” Buffy nodded.

“It was,” she began, “About a year before the spell ‘The First Evil’ began wiping out the Slayer line, taking out Potentials and their Watchers, so I gathered them all at my place in Sunnydale and began training them. But ‘The First’ had built an army of ubervamps in Hell and the only way for me to stop it was to go in with the girls and take out the army first, so we went in while Willow worked the mojo. We won, only problem was we sunk Sunnydale in the process. Barely made it out,” Buffy said as she shrugged. Sam sat stunned momentarily as he processed the information.

“You went into hell?” he eventually gasped. Buffy gave a small smile.

“Sunnydale was on a hellmouth. It wasn’t the first time it’d been opened or the first time I’d closed it.” Buffy was cut off from explaining further by the mobile ringing in her hand.

“What’ve we got people?” Buffy said trying to sound happier than she was as she put the phone on speaker again.

 _“Hey Buffy,”_ Willow said quietly trying to offer emotional support through the phone.

 _“Anyway, we got your nasty B,”_ Faith said, dismissing Willow’s greeting. _“Red explained it but basically, head or heart and the demon is no more.”_

“Thanks Faith. Will, you figured out what happened yet?” Buffy asked.

 _“Kinda. Definitely a spell but I don’t know who has done this or why they’d want to. I should be able to reverse it pretty easily,”_ Willow said.

“Alright. Keep me posted. I’ll finish up here and head back to Cleveland ASAP. Hopefully you guys will have something by then,” Buffy replied.

 _“Be careful with my body B. Unlike you, I haven’t died yet and I’m not too keen on scars,”_ Faith quipped. Buffy rolled her eyes.

“Bye guys,” she said, hanging up the phone.

The Impala pulled up at the edge of the woods. Just ahead Dean saw his father’s Ute and drove up beside it. It was empty. The three occupants got out of the car and Dean and Sam went to the trunk and pulled out weapons. Buffy reached around to the back of Faith’s pants, pulled out Faith’s knife and began walking into the forest. Before she could move far, Willow appeared in front of her.

“Will? What are you doing here?” Buffy asked as Willow smiled.

“Did a locator spell; I’ll lead you to him. This is only a projection so I can’t help with the actual fighting. He’s alive but I think he’s injured or at least unconscious. It was a little more difficult than it usually is.” Willow led them to a small cabin not far from their parked cars and pointed.

“Sorry Buff, I can’t tell you if the demon is in there or not but John is. Do you want me to go in first?”

Buffy smiled. “Nah, I like the element of surprise.”

She ran past Willow and with a small leap, leapt up the stairs onto the balcony. With one kick, she kicked the door in and went inside. Willow turned to the two brothers.

“She won’t need much help but you need to watch her back. Keep her safe,” she said pointedly to Dean.

“You know I will,” he said stiffly.

Willow gave him a small smile. “I know. You always have.” She took a step back and disappeared.

“Dean,” Sam began. Dean held up his hand.

“Not now Sammy,” he said angrily as he ran to the door of the house.

Peering in, he saw what was left of the door at the end of the corridor. He heard the sounds of fighting and followed it to the basement. Walking carefully down the stairs, he saw his father tied up to a chair and rousing into consciousness.

John saw his sons coming down the stairs and his eyes momentarily went wide before he shook his head. Dean ignored him and continued walking down the stairs. The basement was huge, almost as big as the house itself and had been separated into rooms. Dean could hear the sounds of fighting coming from another room and he motioned for Sam to untie their father. As Sam moved toward John, Dean edged toward the room. He was stopped dead in his tracks as Faith’s body came crashing through the wall and landed on the floor between him and Sam. Before he could move toward Buffy, she quickly stood, holding a shoulder and Dean could see that it had popped out of place. Buffy switched the knife into her good hand and stalked toward the hole in the wall. A tall reptilian-like creature suddenly appeared. It noticed Dean nearby and quickly reached a hand out, pinning Dean to the wall by his throat and causing him to drop his gun as he struggled for air.

“Hey,” Buffy called out. “Didn’t you know it’s rude to switch dates? Let’s finish this.”

The demon snarled as it dropped Dean and focused on Buffy. It lunged toward her and Buffy flipped in the air, landing behind the demon and kicking it in the back. Her shoulder jarred and she gave a small cry of pain but it was silenced by a backhand from the demon. Her head whipped to the side and blood appeared at the corner of her mouth. Knowing she needed to end it quickly, Buffy kicked it in the chest. The demon grabbed her foot and pulled her. Buffy spun, causing it to let go of her foot and put some distance between them. She threw the knife with deadly accuracy and it embedded itself into the demons chest causing the demon to fall down and give a final twitch before lying still. Buffy quickly turned toward Dean.

“Shoulder,” she said through gritted teeth. She moved toward him but was stopped as she heard a gun cock. Buffy groaned in irritation and closed her eyes.

“Dean!” she heard John yell a moment later.

She opened her eyes to see Dean throw his father a dirty look before walking over and reaching out to her, holding her shoulder. She smiled in gratitude and held onto his shoulder as she pulled towards him and heard a pop. Buffy looked up at him with relief in her eyes and Dean reached out and wiped the blood from the corner of her mouth without even thinking about it. She sucked in a breath before turning around to John.

“Okay John, we have a lot of things to talk about but I have a school that needs me and I need to get home. My name is Buffy Summers and I am the Slayer. The woman whose body I am in is Faith and she is also a Slayer though that is a long story. Our bodies have been temporarily switched…at least it better be temporary,” she said with a small frown. Buffy watched as he looked toward Dean and slowly lowered his gun. “Thankyou,” Buffy said.

“Slayer huh? I knew there was something unusual about her,” John said.

“This may be a little late now, but how far away are we from Cleveland?” Buffy asked. John laughed.

“What?”

“Faith must’ve been headed there, she’s been leading me there for a week or so now. We’re about half a day out but I’m still headed in that direction if you need a lift.”

Buffy paused in consideration. “Alright, well let’s go. I need my body back.”

* * *

Two hours later in the Impala Sam turned to Dean, who had been silent since they had started to head toward Cleveland. Buffy had opted to ride in the Ute and Sam didn’t blame her. It had been very uncomfortable in the car previously. Dean ignored Sam for as long as he could before giving in.

“What Sam?” Dean asked angrily.

“If you don’t tell me, I’ll have to ask someone else. Probably her,” Sam said. He saw the resignation on his brother’s face and inwardly smiled.

“I met her a few years ago while I was on a job in Sunnydale. I didn’t know what a Slayer was, nor where she was located so I’d no reason to think I was trespassing on her territory. We met, hooked up,” Dean shrugged. “She died about 6 months later saving the world. End of story,” Sam looked across at Dean and saw the emotions his brother was trying to hide.

“You were in love with her,” Sam stated.

“Sam,” Dean warned. He didn’t want to talk about it. Sam ignored the tone.

“Why else would you stay somewhere so long? Half a year! Did Dad know?”

Dean shrugged. “He called once but I was helping hunt down this demon so I told him I was working a job and we left it at that,” Sam turned to look out the window. He gave a small sigh before quickly turning back toward his brother.

“That was before you picked me up, wasn’t it?” Sam asked but Dean’s silence was enough of an answer. “Why’d you try and get me to leave then? You knew I loved Jess,” Sam said becoming angry. Dean pulled over the Impala to the side of the road and got out, followed quickly by Sam as they stood toe to toe at the bonnet. Neither noticed that John pulled the Ute over up ahead nor that their voices would carry.

“Buffy knew what I did Sam. I didn’t lie to her. I didn’t keep the truth from her!” he said, fury spilling over into his words as he waved his hands around. “But she still died. She died saving the world. There was more than enough work in Sunnydale to keep me busy for the rest of my life and if it wasn’t a constant reminder of losing the woman I love then I would have stayed. But I get to your place and I see you making the same mistake I did and I _tried_ to stop you from going through the same thing. It’s a mistake to let people get close Sammy.”

Dean took a deep breath and closed his eyes willing his heart to stop beating so fast. Sam stood stunned at his brother’s confession. He knew that Dean had loved Cassie at one point but he never reacted like this about her. It made him realise how much he must have loved Buffy and, seeing his face now, how broken he was when she died.

“Dean, if I had to do the same thing over again, I’d still have been with Jess, even if I knew she would die. It’s not a mistake to let people get close; it’s what makes us human.”

Dean looked up at Sam but Sam could tell that he didn’t believe him. He could see the anger in his eyes and knew the wounds ran deep. Dean walked back round to the side of the car and got into the driver’s seat. Sam sighed; obviously the discussion was over.

* * *

Early the next morning the Impala and the Ute pulled up outside of the school. There was an enormous looking building in front and, from what John could see, another three buildings of similar size further back. There was a tall brick wall surrounding the complex and a driveway which split in half around a small lawn in the front before joining up again at the front door. Dean climbed out of the car as the front door was thrown open and Dawn appeared. She saw Dean walking past the bonnet and ran down the drive, throwing herself into Dean’s arms. Dean closed his eyes and affectionately hugged her tightly.

“I missed you,” she said on the verge of tears.

“Missed you too kiddo,” he said pulling back, giving her a small smile before brushing her hair out of her face. She had grown up considerably in the last few years. She turned around to look at Sam standing behind her.

“You must be Sammy?” she said with a big smile offering her hand. Sam smiled, looking into her blue eyes which were dancing in amusement and rolled his own.

“Actually, it’s Sam. Dean just refuses to listen.”

Dawn laughed. “I know exactly what you mean. I always get called Dawnie,” she said, throwing a glare toward Buffy.

Buffy just turned on her heels and headed back toward the school. John sensing the tension, followed Buffy and Dawn sighed heavily before she walked into the school, Dean and Sam following just behind her. As Sam closed the front door behind him, he saw a small crowd gathered in the large waiting room off to the left. His father had taken a seat on one of the unoccupied lounges and Sam sat beside him. A dark-haired man stepped toward Dean.

“Dean, it’s good to see you again man,” he said as he hugged Dean.

“You too, Xander,” Dean replied honestly as he pointed to Xander’s eye. Xander laughed.

“Injured on the job. It got taken by an evil priest but its okay, Buffy sliced him in half. Unfortunately, in our line of work, it wasn’t covered by worker’s comp,” Xander said jovially. Dean smiled at his humour.

“Hello Willow,” he offered stiffly to the redhead standing beside Buffy.

“Hey Dean,” she said with a small smile. Giles stepped forward and offered his hand.

“Hello Dean. It has been a long time and it’s good to see you,” Giles said with warmth. Dean smiled back at him as he shook his hand.

Dean saw a young brunette sitting in a chair and a blonde man standing awkwardly off to the side, wearing an apron. He looked further around and saw who he presumed to be Faith in Buffy’s body. For having died, he had to admit that she still looked beautiful, probably more so now. She was sitting next to a dark skinned man, though they looked to be sitting uncomfortably together. Sam coughed lightly from the lounge and he turned to see John and Sam looking very confused. Buffy stepped toward them and introduced everyone.

“Everyone this is John, Dean and Sam Winchester. They’re hunters. This is Xander, one of my best friends and carpenter extraordinaire; Giles, my Watcher; Dawn, my sister and a Watcher-in-Training; Kennedy, a Slayer who helps me train the girls; Faith, the other original Slayer; Robin, a teacher and son of a Slayer; Willow, one of my best friends and the best witch I know and Andrew,” Buffy paused. “Well, he was originally a hostage but I don’t know what he is now. He just helps out where he can.”

“I made a documentary chronicling the preparation for the battle with ‘The First’ and I’m also the reigning champ of “Peasant’s Quest’!” Andrew said proudly. Xander gave a small cough and Giles took off his glasses and polished them. Buffy just rolled her eyes. Faith stood up and walked toward Willow.

“So Red, can you just magic us back now?” Faith asked waving a hand. Willow gave her a small smile.

“Yeah, I’ve got a spell that should work,” Willow stood up and started gathering some things from the buffet drawer. Faith began clearing a small space on the floor whilst Andrew walked further into another room and Buffy turned to the others.

“We don’t know what will happen,” Buffy said. “Kennedy, Robin, you guys should probably get the girls ready for their morning lessons anyway. Dawnie, you have work,” Dawn frowned and headed into the kitchen. Buffy saw Dean go after her and she sighed.

“I’m gonna go check on some things,” Xander said as he moved out of the room. Giles and John walked out together talking. Buffy sat down on the floor where Willow had indicated and tried to relax.

* * *

Dawn slammed the cupboard shut and turned to the fridge to get milk. She saw Dean standing in the doorway.

“She still treats me like a baby sometimes,” Dawn said grumpily. “I’m twenty-one not one. I can set my own work schedule. Besides, I’ve become quite adept in magic. I can handle myself.”

“She’s looking out for you Dawnie. You know that.”

Dean walked over and sat at the long counter dividing the kitchen from the dining hall. Dawn poured the milk into the glass and returned the bottle to the fridge before she sat down in front of Dean and looked at her hands.

“I’m sorry you found out like that,” Dawn said quietly. “She had a fight with Xander after she got back. She wanted to know where you were. Xander told her that he didn’t know and she was so angry. I tried to tell her that you had seen me before you left but she wouldn’t listen. I tried to tell her that you were still looking after me but she refused to talk about you after that. I did try.”

“I know you did,” Dean said softly, reaching out to hold her hand.

“I put all the money you’ve been sending into her account. I’m not sure if she knows about it,” Dawn said looking up at Dean. “I wanted to tell you she was back but she was so angry that I was afraid she’d turn you away. I didn’t want you to leave again.”

“No matter what happens Dawnie, I’ll always be here for you okay?” Dean said, holding her hand. Dawn nodded.

“I still have the ring, you know. I kept it in a safe spot where she won’t find it. I know it is not a good time right now but it’s yours when you want it,” Dawn said. Dean closed his eyes in pain.

“Dawn…” he began.

“I’d better go,” Dawn said, cutting him off. She walked around the counter and kissed him lightly on the cheek. “Talk to you later,” she said as she walked out of the kitchen. Dean put his head in his hands as Sam walked into the kitchen.

“So,” Sam began waiting for Dean to look up at him. When Dean didn’t respond, Sam pushed forward. “You were going to ask her to marry you?” he asked. Dean slowly looked up at him.

* * *

Willow sat on the floor and chanted in Latin. The room darkened and a small glow appeared on both Buffy and Faith’s chests. Willow said six final words and the two lights soared into the air above their heads before landing on the opposite woman. The light returned to the room and Willow looked at Buffy’s body expectantly. Her answer came from the other Slayer.

“Oh, thank God!” Faith said smiling. Buffy looked across at her.

“You can say that again!” Buffy said, returning the smile. They began helping Willow pack away the equipment she had pulled out when Giles and John walked into the room.

“I take it that the spell was successful then?” Giles asked, looking at Buffy who smiled.

“I’m going to give John a tour of the school,” Giles said. Buffy nodded mutely.

“I’ll come too,” Faith said as she followed the two men out of the room. Willow turned to Buffy.

“He’s here now. You need to sort out what you want to do,” Willow said sagely. Buffy gave a deep sigh and walked off to find Dawn.

* * *

Buffy found Dawn sitting in her office, shifting through some paperwork.

“In my office huh? Do you want my job?” Buffy said smiling. Dawn looked up and glared.

“I’m fine, thankyou,” Dawn said. Buffy closed the door behind her and sat in the chair opposite Dawn, who looked up at her questioningly.

“What were you trying to tell me on the phone Dawn? About Dean?”

“You didn’t want to hear it,” Dawn said dismissively. Buffy sat up straighter.

“Well, I’m listening now. Are you gonna tell me?” she said shortly. Dawn looked her sister straight in the eyes.

“You never asked me where he was,” Dawn began. “You just assumed he was a jerk who ran off. You should have known better. He did try Buffy but you didn’t see how broken he was after you died. I mean, we were all hurting but I’ve never seen Dean like that before. Everything here reminded him of you. He found out his Dad went missing and he left to get Sam so they could find him together but he talked with me first. He wanted me to know he would be back and he gave me a number where I could always reach him if I needed him. He made sure to check in at least every fortnight and he sent me money every week,” Buffy looked at her surprised. “I put the money straight into your account,” Dawn clarified. “I last spoke with him about three days before Sunnydale collapsed. I didn’t tell him you were alive because it was your news to tell him and you didn’t want him to know. I was afraid if I told him for you, you would turn him away.”

“Why haven’t you talked with him since we have been here?”

Dawn looked up guiltily. “Um, well, unfortunately, my phone went down with Sunnydale and although I knew the number by heart, I just kept putting it off, forgetting with all the craziness that has been going on. He must have been frantic though. Before you came back I missed a scheduled call from him and he was beside himself. Drove through the night and got two tickets trying to get here as quickly as he could. He was so angry when I answered the door. No one was home but me so he stayed for a few hours and we had a long talk. When he saw the news about Sunnydale he would have been so worried. I didn’t even check to see if our names were on the register for those who had survived. I bet they weren’t.” Dawn looked her sister in the eyes. “He is still the same person Buffy. Granted he’s a little more broken now but he is still the same and I know he still loves you.”

Dawn turned her attention back to the paperwork in front of her and she heard Buffy get up and leave the room.

* * *

Buffy searched all over the school grounds and eventually found Dean outside ‘D Block’ at the back of the school. He was sitting in the grass, pulling out the blades one by one and ripping them in half before tossing them aside. Buffy sat down beside him silently and looked at the rest of the school before her.

“I’m sorry,” Buffy offered. Dean temporarily closed his eyes before turning to look at her.

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

“At first I thought you had left, that you didn’t care and eventually the idea was so strong in my head, it was as though I had _watched_ you walk away.”

Dean took a deep breath but remained silent. After a few moments he began pulling out the grass blades again.

“I wasn’t in hell Dean,” Buffy said with a shaky voice. Dean paused and looked at her. “I was in heaven. I was at peace and I was complete.” She turned to look at him and he could see that she was contemplating whether or not to continue.

“I knew you were all right and that you’d all be fine. Suddenly I was torn out of there and I opened my eyes to see the inside of my coffin.” Buffy looked out toward the school again. “I’d already had nightmares about waking up in a coffin and I couldn’t understand why I was being tortured. By the time I reached the surface, demons had already pulled apart some of the town and this looked like hell. Everything was bright and noisy and it was painful here.” She paused as she collected her thoughts.

“It was rough for a while and I felt like I couldn’t feel anything; like I was dead inside. And I did things I’m not proud of but I’m glad you weren’t here for that; I’m glad you didn’t see me like that, because you might just have walked away. And at least the other way I had hope that you’d once loved me. If you had walked away from me then I don’t know if I’d still be here today.”

Buffy took a deep breath to calm her nerves and was surprised to feel Dean’s hand on her forearm. She glanced down before following the arm back up to the body it belonged to and into the face of the man sitting beside her. He gave her a soft look, a look she hadn’t seen from him in years but one she knew intimately: a look that had been reserved only for her.

“Buffy, I would never have left you, no matter what. There is nothing, and I mean nothing, that could have made me walk away from you. Despite everything that has happened in the last 24 hours, I haven’t stopped loving you. I’m still processing everything and I want you to eventually tell me everything I’ve missed but I haven’t stopped loving you. I really don’t think I ever will.” He reached up and cupped her face, turning it so she was looking at him face on. “I can’t forgive what Willow did but I’m glad that you’re here. I never thought I’d see you again.”

He gave her a soft smile and wiped the tear that fell from her eyes before he wrapped an arm around her and pulled her close. They sat in silence for a few moments as they relished a completeness they hadn’t felt in a long time.  
“Tell me about this school,” he asked as she laid her head on his shoulder and they both looked out at the school.

* * *

“Are you sure about this?” John asked his youngest son. Sam paused before he answered.

“Yes,” he replied confidently. “I think I can be more useful here.” John gave him a nod.

“At least I’ll know where you are,” John said as he hugged Sam.

Sam smiled before pulling back. “Take care Dad.”

John stepped across and pulled Dean into a hug.

“We’ll be here if you need us Dad,” Dean said.

John pulled back and nodded at his eldest. He gave a warm smile to the dysfunctional family standing behind his sons before hoping into his Ute and pulling out of the driveway. Dean felt a small pair of arms wrap around his waist and smiled as he turned around to face Buffy.

“He’ll be back,” she reassured. Dean smiled at her before leaning down and kissing her.

“I know,” he said confidently with a smile as he wrapped an arm around her waist and began following the others into the house.

As they reached the doors, Buffy suddenly stopped and looked up at him with a confused expression on her face.

“Wait, how do you _know?_ ” she asked. Dean just gave her a big smile and led her inside.


End file.
